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The Cross from the 

Church of Revigny 

Speaks 



By W. J. R. KEATES 

Formerly Custodian of French High Commission 
War Exhibit in U. S. 



¥ 



Sacred relics from Churches of Verdun, now on 

exhibition in Lincoln Corridor, College of 

the City of New York. 






COPYRIGHT 1919 

BY W. J. R. KEATES 



^ 



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The Cross from the Church 
of Revigny Speaks 

"Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass 
by? behold, and see if there be any sor- 
row like unto My sorrow. . ." 

This cry, from the Book of Lamenta- 
tions I-XII, issued in hollow tones from 
the collection of sacred relics of the devas- 
tated churches in Verdun and vicinity 
which formed part of the French War 
Exhibit. Upon investigation the voice 
was traced to the cross from the Church 
of Revigny, which still bears the shattered 
remnants of what was once the figure of 
the Saviour of the world. Upon being 
encouraged to tell its wonderful story, the 
cross continued: 

"During the Franco-Prussian War, two 
Frenchmen (one from Alsace) fought side 
by side, on Alsatian soil, in the glorious 
army of France. There was not only the 
tie of homeland, but that of blood also 
which bound together these two men in a 



life fellowship that had been very sweet 
indeed to both of them. It was a strange 
coincidence that had brought them to- 
gether at this time, as the events of future 
days will reveal. 

"I will not attempt to describe the dan- 
gers through which these two comrades-in- 
arms passed, or the horrors of the invasion, 
or how the Alsatian was finally killed, 
with this cry on his lips, 'Pour la France ! 
Vive la France! Tou jours la France!' 
Reverent hands buried him with his face 
toward Paris, the eternal abiding place of 
beautiful women and brave, gallant men. 
His grave was made beneath an oak tree 
that miraculously escaped the devastation 
of future engagements. After peace was 
declared and Alsace-Lorraine had become 
— by force of arms only — provinces of 
Germany, frequent pilgrimages were 
made by Jacques to the last resting place 
of Pierre, and in later years, to Jacques' 
great delight, he found the tree had grown 
to be a giant oak with all the nobility and 
dignity of a cathedral. He gloried in its 
stately strength, for he was a wood-carver 
of no mean ability, and his handiwork was 



widely sought by those who appreciated 
his craft. But his visits to the grave of 
Pierre had not been unobserved, as will 
presently be disclosed. 

"Jacques' son had grown to man's estate 
and had inherited all the craftsmanship of 
his father, but Jean's mother, having made 
a solemn vow that if her husband Jacques 
were returned to her safely from the great 
war their son should devote his life to the 
service of the Church, persuaded him to 
enter a monastery. This Jean did, in 
obedience to his mother's wishes, after 
promising his father to pray for the re- 
pose of the soul of Pierre. He also prayed 
continually for the restoration of Alsace- 
Lorraine to France, that the eyes of the 
war lords of Germany might be opened 
to the gross injustice done to France, and 
that they might repent. 

"Long days, weeks, months, Jean spent 
praying in his lonely cell, secluding him- 
self that he might concentrate on his lofty 
mission and that no worldly thought might 
swerve him from his high purpose. Many, 
many hours he spent thus in meditation 



and prayer, but his heart found neither 
comfort nor peace. Fearing that some 
act of his life, blameless though it might 
be, would prevent the fulfillment of his 
vows, he performed acts of contrition and 
inflicted penances upon himself until his 
physical body became so emaciated that 
he was an object of sympathetic comment. 

"The old Abbe, who was devoted to his 
young protege, observed with great dis- 
tress Jean's changed appearance, and in 
his kindly way suggested that Jean asso- 
ciate with one of his brothers, saying: 
'My son, you should have companionship 
and receive the consolation that springs 
therefrom.' This Jean finally agreed to 
consider. But the suggestion was never 
carried out, for that night Jean's devoted 
mother died. 

"While his mother's soul was leaving her 
earthly body, the Blessed Virgin appeared 
to Jean in a vision, saying: 'My son, if 
you would have my help and blessing, and 
if your heart would find peace, carve an 
emblem that will enable the world to vis- 
ualize the exquisite physical and mental 
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suffering, shame and anguish, which my 
Son, your Saviour, endured in order to 
teach men the wonderful compassion and 
love of God their Father.' 'But what of 
Alsace-Lorraine?' questioned the awe- 
stricken boy. 'My son,' was the answer, 
'in God's own time another nation, once 
befriended by France in an hour of need, 
will remember and repay. Go now, with 
my blessing, and be of good courage.' 

"Obediently Jean rose from the stone 
floor of his cell and to his utter amazement 
found he had received new strength. His 
knees, that had grown stiff and rheumatic 
from contact with the cold, damp floor, 
were so no longer, and his mental and 
physical exhaustion had entirely vanished. 
In fear and trembling he sought the old 
Abbe, who, upon hearing his story and 
realizing that he had been inspired, per- 
mitted him to depart, but not before every 
argument possible had been used to per- 
suade him to wait until morning before 
starting on his journey. 

"Dawn broke at last! Jean arose from 
his knees, whereon he had been praying 

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through the long, silent watches of the 
night. The sun's first rays beckoned to him 
as they peeped rosily over the wooded 
slopes of the distant hills. With a prayer 
on his lips Jean bade adieu to the Abbe 
and set out on his pilgrimage. 

" 'Carve an emblem. . . Carve an em- 
blem. . .' The words of the Blessed Vir- 
gin re-echoed through every fibre of his 
being. The physical body was set aflame 
by the passion of his spirit, and he quick- 
ened his steps in the direction of the wood- 
lands. 'Carve an emblem. . . Carve an 
emblem. . .' Exultantly, ecstatically he 
cried: 'Carve a Crucifix! I will! Wood! 
Wood ! Give me wood !' 

"For his great purpose the wood must 
be near perfection, and his search for it 
brought him near the town of Thann, 
where, upon inquiring for suitable mate- 
rial, he was told that the Germans had dis- 
covered the reasons for the pilgrimages 
made by his father and had ordered the 
tree chopped down and destroyed. But, 
fortunately, although it had been felled, it 
had not yet been burned, and after great 
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difficulty Jean succeeded in locating the 
tree and, with even greater difficulty ow- 
ing to German vigilance, in securing the 
timber and carrying it to the monastery. 

"The labor of love, once begun, brought 
both peace and joy to the heart of one who 
had so earnestly sought them. The sound 
of the sturdy Jean's mallet on chisel, 
often heard in the small hours of the 
morning, was music to the ears of the old 
Abbe, for well he knew that this work of 
Jean's would be a masterpiece of inspira- 
tion. 

"When the work was completed, then, 
and not until then, was the old Abbe in- 
vited to see it. And when he beheld it 
tears streamed down his aged cheeks, as 
reverently making the sign of the cross he 
stammered in ecstasy: 

"'See! From His head, His hands, His 
feet 

Sorrow and love flow mingled down; 
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet, 

Or thorns compose so rich a crown? 
Were the whole realm of nature mine, 

That were a present far too small ; 
Love so amazing, so divine, 

Demands my life, my soul, my all." 



"Jean's masterpiece now being com- 
pleted, he asked that the crucifix be placed 
in the church of Revigny, where his 
mother had so often devoutly worshipped. 
Permission was granted, and when the 
bishop was called to consecrate it he was 
so lost in adoration and wonder that the 
priest had to remind him of his unfulfilled 
sacred duty, remarking that every one 
who looked upon this wonderful work of 
inspired devotion was similarly affected. 
The work was so beautifully realistic that 
pilgrimages were made by the devout from 
far and near to receive therefrom inspira- 
tion anew. Every muscle of the body of 
Christ, tense and torn, manifesting the in- 
tense passion of love and divine suffering, 
was more eloquent than mere words 
spoken or written and had an effect that 
is lasting to this day on those who saw. 

"When France called upon her sons to 
repel the invader, men from all walks of 
life answered the call, with no thought of 
their own safety or comfort, but upper- 
most in the heart and soul of each was the 
honor of 'la belle France.' 

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"Jean's home was destroyed by the in- 
vading Huns. The old hand-carved fur- 
niture, the pride of the family for genera- 
tions, was reduced to a pitiful mass of 
wreckage. His father's body was taken 
from the ruins, still clasping to his breast 
the crucifix and a picture of Jean in the 
arms of his mother. 

"Many French men made the supreme 
sacrifice, but none more nobly, more he- 
roically than Jean. He died in the serv- 
ice of France and the Church. When 
after an intense bombardment the monas- 
tery fell, the old Abbe and the monks took 
what food and water they could find and, 
remembering the scriptural injunction, 
'If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he 
thirst, give him drink,' ministered to 
the wounded and dying on the battlefield, 
showing no preference of friend to foe. 

Jean, while placing his last cup of water 
to the lips of a wounded poilu, made his 
last sacrifice. Raising himself on one el- 
bow, a German soldier took deliberate 
aim and fired, instantly killing Jean, 
who had just ministered to him. A little, 



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rough, wooden cross marks the spot where 
he fell. The inscription, as simple and 
beautiful as his life had been, with no name 
to identify the one who sleeps beneath, 
reads: 'To a martyred son of France. 
Greater love hath no man than this, that 
a man lay down his life for his friend/ 
These words crudely written with pencil 
may not now be decipherable; weather or 
bombardment may have effaced or de- 
stroyed them. But a soldier back in Paris, 
one leg missing and otherwise mutilated 
and crippled, often speaks of the devoted 
son of the church whose body screened 
him from instant death. Jean died as he 
had lived, in the service of his church and 
of humanity. 

"The people of France regard your won- 
derful American troops who have so won- 
drously fulfilled the prophecy made in the 
old monastery, not only as comrades-in- 
arms, but brothers too. And when your 
casualty lists were published they thought 
of the inscription on a small, rough, wood- 
en cross, 'Somewhere in France,' and of- 
fered up their prayers for the repose of 

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the souls of the men who so gallantly 
fell." 

That was the story the cross from the 
church of Revigny told me. And at its 
close I give silent thanks that the soldiers 
of the United States — the men who seek 
no cause to make war, who never shirk 
their duty nor count their lives dear when 
their freedom, the freedom of others and 
civilization itself hangs in the balance — 
went "over there" to put an end forever, 
God helping them, to the autocrat who 
placed his will above that of his own peo- 
ple and insisted that all other peoples and 
nations submit in like manner. 

In the war that has just been ended by 
the peace treaty, nothing was regarded as 
sacred by the Prussian fiends. First, they 
broke their word of honor, then outraged 
women and children ; sacred institutions — 
churches, convents, monasteries — hospi- 
tals, schools, libraries, museums, art gal- 
leries, and even Red Cross ambulances and 
Red Cross ships were made special objects 
of attack, devastation, desecration and de- 
struction. 

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Around the church of Revigny the holo- 
caust centered at one period, and as a re- 
sult it was soon a mass of smoking, burned, 
charred ruins. But the Cross, from which 
the figure of the Saviour had been wan- 
tonly shelled, only one hand, one arm, two 
spiked feet and a fragment of one leg re- 
maining, was rescued by French troops 
and brought to this country by the French 
High Commission in order that you might 
see for yourselves to what depths sinks the 
nation that puts "kultur" of mind and 
body above the spiritual. Prussian autoc- 
racy lost the war, but its most serious loss 
was that of its soul. That is why its 
armies could not fittingly be compared 
with the dear, kind beasts of the fields that 
have no souls but are tractable. 

Make no mistake. Prussianism is not 
dead. Nor is it asleep. Neither is it re- 
pentant. Therefore, it is your duty and 
mine to be ever watchful, ever prepared. 
A nation without a soul cannot be trusted. 

This warning is given you, "Lest Ye 
Forget." 



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